How will election influence fate of Richmond schools?

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RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR)--The quality of a school district is critical to a city's growth and progress.

It can affect the housing market, local jobs and perhaps most importantly the future of children.

After a challenging year for the Richmond School district that included a $24 million dollar deficit and questions over waste, Catie Beck took questions to Mayor Dwight Jones about the state of city schools and his confidence in its leadership.

“This is not something that needs to happen over three or four years, something needs to happen now," said Mayor Dwight Jones.

Jones called for sweeping and immediate changes when it comes to Richmond Public Schools (RPS). He's counting on a newly elected school board to make them.

“They’ve been called to provide us a radical transformation and to really take the bull by the horns and change things around," said Jones.

With seven out the nine being new members on board, Jones is hoping the group will switch course after a rocky year for RPS leaders.

The $24 million dollar deficit resulted in layoffs, mandated furlough days, positions left vacant and cuts to retiree benefits. In the midst of that, questions were raised about waste and poor judgment when it came to school spending.

CBS 6 explored some of those questions in recent investigations. Our investigation proved that hundreds of RPS employees, roughly 15 percent of the workforce, are already retired and that many collect both a pension and a hefty paycheck.